Religious School Blog

Shalom Friends -
​​​​​​​
It is finally here - we are back to class and so excited! There are a lot of details in this message so please read all the way through!
Ruach and Minyan times are both being adjusted by 15 minutes to allow for comuting to the synagogue. Attendance will be taken for both Ruach and Minyan. Since class is so much shorter the content of both of these programs is enriching and suplimenting what the students get in class. 

Sunday, October 18th 
9:00am - 9:30am Ruach Required Attendance Always Online Click Here to Join Ruach
10:00am - 11:15am In-Person Grades 3rd & 6th and Online Class for all OthersClick Here to See All Class Links (must login)
10:00am-12:00pm High Holiday Book Drop Off
11:00am-1:00pm Food Drive at Synagogue 

Monday, October 19th
5:30pm - 6::45pm In-Person Grades 3rd & 6th and Online Class for all Others
7:15pm - 7:45pm Minyan Always Online (Attendance Required for 3rd-6th Grade) Click Here to Join Minyan

In-Person Class Information
In-person class will be held outside both Sunday and Monday - please have your students dress appropriately, especially Monday night for Sundown. The students are required to wear their masks the entire class and we will be socially distant. The outdoor classroom will be setup so that they have their seats/space to stay in. Students will have there temperture checked, please do not leave until you have seen the "wave" from me. Parents will not be allowed in the building. If you chose to stay in the parking lot please keep your masks on and stay socially distant from others. Students will only be allowed in the restrooms one at a time, however please have students use the restroom before they arrive. Hand sanitizer will available and extra masks as needed. We will not be serving any food or drink and do not want them to bring food so please have your students eat before arriving!!!

Not Coming to In-Person Learning
If your students class is meeting in person and your student is not attending in-person but will attend via Zoom please communicate that to your teacher today so we can make sure we have a laptop or ipad in place. 

We have a very limited amount of class time both online and in-person so we want as few distruptions as possible and would like to encourage everyone to arrive on time. If you do not have your login or your students login for Shalom Learning please let me know.

Link to all Zoom links - must login:  https://www.adatreyim.org/religious-school-zoom-links.html

I feel like I forgot something, I have been planning this all for so long and there are so many details! If you have any questions please call or text my cell for immediate need/response (708)261-8971.

B'Shalom-

Elizabeth Bayer
Executive Director and Religious School Administrator
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
execdirector@adatreyim.org
religiousschool@adatreyim.org
(703)569-7577

We are having an online religious school committee meeting TONIGHT. We hope you will join us in planning for the future of our school as well as our current needs. 

​​​​​​​
Elizabeth Bayer is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Religious School Committee Meeting
Time: Oct 13, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81896605709?pwd=TzBUWG13WVZOQ2MvVGVrRExmZ3lqQT09

Meeting ID: 818 9660 5709
Passcode: 197976
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,81896605709#,,,,,,0#,,197976# US (Chicago)
+19292056099,,81896605709#,,,,,,0#,,197976# US (New York)

Dial by your location
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 818 9660 5709
Passcode: 197976
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc9zCZPgSR




If you have any questions please call or text my cell for immediate need/response (708)261-8971.

B'Shalom-

Elizabeth Bayer
Executive Director and Religious School Administrator
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
execdirector@adatreyim.org
religiousschool@adatreyim.org
(703)569-7577

Shanah Tova Chaverim - 

I want to wish you a Happy & Healthy New Year and also remind you that there is NO Religious School this weekend. I do hope that you will join us on Saturday night at 6:30pm for an Online Dance Party to celebrate Simchat Torah. Rabbi Glazer is going to be donating to Tzedakah for those who dance during the dance breaks, how cool is Rabbi G!
We will begin our regular religious school starting on Sunday, October 18th and Monday, October 19th. I will be sending out specific instructions for those that are meeting in person at the building. Please watch for communication from your students teachers with Zoom Links and please respond to any questions they ask. The same Zoom links for your students classes are also located on the religious school page and will not change during the year. For security reasons you must be logged in to access these links  https://www.adatreyim.org/religious-school-zoom-links.html. The links for Ruach and Minyan will be coming soon. All 2nd-7th grade students should have their login information for Shalom Learning. If your student does not please let me know.
We are having an online religious school committee meeting on Tuesday, October 13th for those who are interested in volunteering to help in classrooms as well as planning the future of our school. Please email me or Jessica Schwab (jessicaschwab@gmail.com) if you are interested in attending.


Sunday, October 18th w/Food Drive Collection For Tzedakah at the Synagogue
9:15am Ruach 
10:00am - 11:15am In Person Learning 3rd & 6th Grade
Online Learning All Other Grades

Monday, October 19th
5:30pm - 6:45pm In Person Learning 3rd & 6th Grade 
Online Learning All Other Grades
7:00pm-7:30pm Minyan Online

On the Religious School Homepage there is the calendar for the year and a pdf that you can download and print. Religious School Homepage You can also sync your digital calendar with the Adat Reyim Digital Calendar. Religious School is listed accurately here as well Adat Reyim Calendar . 

If you have any questions please call or text my cell for immediate need/response (708)261-8971.

Shabbat Shalom-

Elizabeth Bayer
Executive Director and Religious School Administrator
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
execdirector@adatreyim.org
religiousschool@adatreyim.org
(703)569-7577

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Social Distance Picnic! It was so great to actually see so many of you and your kids! We got lucky with a beautiful day! 

There have been some questions today about if we are having religious school tonight and the links so here you go...

YES - There is school tonight!
5:30pm-6:45pm
The links live on the religious school website if you ever forget or lose them.https://www.adatreyim.org/religious-school-zoom-links.html

3rd Grade with Morah Pioso
Sundays 10:00am -11:15am
https://zoom.us/j/99936908481?pwd=SzVweVhtTTUrd2ExVXhaZUp3SlY2dz09  
Mondays 5:30pm - 6:45pm
https://zoom.us/j/99599895599?pwd=U3pwMDhIeFIxTFRzRGRFNm1MRDJwUT09
 

4th Grade Monday Religious School - with Morah Sue Keitelman
Monday Night 5:30pm-6:45pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98233473823?pwd=aGVOeG9GVzZSdGdETjJoejNnUDBZZz09
Meeting ID: 982 3347 3823
Passcode: fUCD4k
 
5th Grade Mondays Hebrew School with Moreh Lefkowitz
This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93565064975?pwd=RzlwbW81WFJxNWdqNUwydlB4MnBkZz09
Meeting ID: 935 6506 4975
Passcode: Lefkoman
 
6th Grade Mondays with Moreh Siegal
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98211237092? pwd=WU1FZitkNkxNb0hMc3lBS2E2SHJ6QT09 ​​​​​​​
Meeting ID: 982 1123 7092
Passcode: 6thgrade
 
7th Grade -  Sundays with Morah Vered Margalit 4:30pm-6:00pm
https://zoom.us/j/92915522280?pwd=RmZLOEV4V0wwazFqR0E0MGhUWFVodz09
 
If you have any questions or trouble getting into the session please call or text my cell for immediate need/response (708)261-8971.
 
Elizabeth Bayer
Executive Director and Religious School Administrator
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
execdirector@adatreyim.org
religiousschool@adatreyim.org
(703)569-7577

Dear Friends - 

Yesterday was the first day of school for most students in the Northern Virginia and I am sure there are many mixed feelings, some of stress, some of relief. (More on this below) It has been a very long summer and getting back to some normality feels good, even if it is online learning. This summer I have used all the time available to learn everything I could possibly learn about teaching online and all the tools that are available and then I passed them on to our teachers. I am excited by our progress and I our teachers are ready!
 
This Sunday, September 13th is our Social Distance Picnic/Drive and Wave. Please bring a food/school supply donation to support the social action committees Echo Drive. What a great way to begin our school year and teach our students about Tzedakah. Right now it looks like it is going to rain so please watch for updates! Please RSVP below so we know how many to plan for. If you are not comfortable attending a picnic please plan to arrive at 12:30pm to pick up your supplies from your teachers. Please email me if you are not planning on attending the picnic but will be picking up your supplies.

Communication:
All the messages that I send to you will be saved on the Adat Reyim Website under the Learn Heading - Hover over Religious School - Religious School Communication Section.  https://www.adatreyim.org/religious-school-blog.html  If you can't find something in your email you can always check there. I will be sending messages every week with updates and important reminders.

Schedule: 
Each teacher will be sending an email with the link to your students classroom Zoom session. All sessions will be running at the same time both online and in-person. The links will also be posted on a member only page on the religious school section of the website.
We will have Minyan every Monday and 3-6 graders are expected to attend as part of b'nai mitzvah preparation. We will have Ruach approximately every 6 weeks for the entire school. Ruach is an important way for the students to connect with Rabbi Glazer who will be sharing stories and insight as well as to build a connection with their Judaism through music and movement.  Both Ruach and Minyan will have separate links from class that will be sent to you separately.
Sunday Ruach: 9:15am-9:45am (Check Calendar)
Sunday Class: 10:00am-11:15am
7th Grade Sunday: 4:30pm-6:00pm
Monday Class: 5:30pm-6:45pm
Monday Minyan: 7:00pm-7:30pm
Attached is the Religious School Calendar. 


ShalomLearning
We are excited to announce that Congregation Adat Reyim will be offering the ShalomLearning program for grades 2-7 for the upcoming school year.  ShalomLearning partners with synagogues all over the world to provide a fresh approach to Jewish education by using technology, short videos, music, texts, and online activities to make curriculum and materials relevant to the students. ShalomLearning offers a spiral curriculum which means they will return to the same topic repeatedly throughout their religious education. 
 
ShalomLearning - Judaic Curriculum
ShalomLearning’s interactive, Jewish values-based curriculum helps children develop a positive Jewish identity. The curriculum is based on seven Jewish values we all share, like Gevurah “Using your inner strength to do what’s right,” and Teshuvah “Taking responsibilities for your actions.”  By relating stories from the Torah and Jewish history to events happening in our kids’ lives, ShalomLearning helps each student explore his or her personal connection to our heritage. 
 
Shalom Learning - Hebrew Curriculum
In partnership with Torah Aura Publishing and JLearnHub, ShalomLearning offers two different approaches for learning Hebrew and Tefillot. Both options provide students the opportunity to learn to decode Hebrew and prayers for Shabbat services. Between class times, students log in to the site my.shalomlearning.org to complete self-paced activities, answer questions, practice Hebrew and stay connected to their Hebrew school class throughout the week. I will be sending each family their login information.
 
Virtual Classes
We understand that many families need more flexibility in their schedule and Jewish learning shouldn’t be limited to only within the synagogue.  By using the ShalomLearning program, classes can be held online. Each week, at the same time, students log in to teacher led virtual classroom in real time,  where they will see, hear and interact with one another.  The peer connections will continue and evolve in this online setting. 

Parent Participation
We encourage parents to take an active role in their students Jewish Education. In your students entire Jewish Education they have approximately 276 days of learning over 13 years, fewer days than one year. We need your help to cement their Jewish Identity by continuing their education at home. We encourage you to set aside time each day to practice what they are learning in class.
We Need Your Help:
A. If you are interested in volunteering in your students classrooms in person or in Zoom please let me know. 
B. We are also looking for parents to participate in our Education Committee to help us plan for our future, please email Jessica Schwab or Ellen Glaser to be included on the committee email list. 

How Can We Help
I would be remiss if I didn't take another moment to acknowldge where we are today in our world and how important it is that we are here for each other. The Coronavirus has affected us all. Some of us have lost loved ones, some have been unemployed, some are struggling to find a way to balance working for home and also being the "lunch lady" while our kids attend school from home. Some of us are battling fear and anxiety. All of our feelings and needs are relevant and we will work hard this year to work together to provide outlets for discussion and ways to support each other. This Saturday night our Selichot program starts off our High Holidays with just that. Rabbi Glazer is working with our community licensed mental health professionals to provide a way to prepare together for the High Holidays and to discuss What Stands in Our Way? I hope you will join us.

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday,
Elizabeth Bayer
Executive Director and Religious School Administrator
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
execdirector@adatreyim.org
religiousschool@adatreyim.org
(703)569-7577

Dear Friends –

As we get ready for this school year to begin the teachers and I are doing tons of training and planning to make this a safe and EXCITING year! In trying to solidify our plans and send out our final calandar I need you to please respond to this email with the answers to the questions below. 

1. Do your students have the technology available to have class at the same time? Example: If you have 3 students, in 3 different grades, do you have 3 devices and is your internet bandwidth able to accomodate those devices? This includes madrichim.

2. If the answer to the first question regarding devices is NO, please let me know how many devices we would need to loan you and if this would make it possible for all your students to have class at the same time.

3. Are you planning on sending your students to the in-person learning sessions? We already asked this question however we did not receive enough responses to know if this is a viable option. Please reply with the name of the student and the following for each student: 
1. yes for in-person learning
2. yes for in person outside learning only
3. no for in person learning

I hope everyone continues to stay safe and sane! I know that I miss you and all of your children and I am looking forward to seeing them either in person or on screen soon!
 

Elizabeth Bayer
Executive Director and Religious School Administrator
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
execdirector@adatreyim.org ​​​​​​​
religiousschool@adatreyim.org
(703)569-7577

Are you a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister or friend of a student that attends or could attend our Religious School or Teen Program?
If so you may want to attend our Town Hall on Sunday, July 26th at 7:00pm. We will be sharing with you our plan for the fall and give you an opportunity to ask questions. We hope you will join us!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85101824727?pwd=Nll2QlYwQXlsTm5pMjNvTGFta2tjQT09
Meeting ID: 851 0182 4727
Passcode: 155760

Dear Friends -
As we begin to confirm enrollment for the 2020-2021 year our bookkeeper, Marilyn Daniels has asked me to reach out to all of you. It would make her job much easier if you would tell us how you plan to pay. Please reply to this email if you are planning to pay in one payment, in 6 payments or in 12 payments. All payments must be complete by the end of the fiscal year June 30, 2021. 

Thank you,
Liz

Elizabeth Bayer is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Religious School 2020-2021
Time: Jul 23, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85101824727?pwd=Nll2QlYwQXlsTm5pMjNvTGFta2tjQT09

Meeting ID: 851 0182 4727
Password: 155760
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,85101824727#,,,,0#,,155760# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,85101824727#,,,,0#,,155760# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 851 0182 4727
Password: 155760
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcsjlSXXtT